Rockies-Dodgers Preview

After successfully shutting down one team that had bothered him
all season last weekend, the ace left-hander will look to avenge
another as he leads the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Colorado
Rockies in Friday night's series opener.

Kershaw (15-9, 1.88 ERA) is on pace to finish the year with
baseball's lowest ERA since Houston's Roger Clemens closed 2005 at
1.87. The favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, Kershaw leads the
league with 224 strikeouts, and will likely become the first Dodger
pitcher with a sub-two ERA since Sandy Koufax's 1.73 in 1966.

Kershaw has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 of 12 starts
since the All-Star break. The lone exception came Sept. 2, when he
yielded season highs of five runs and 11 hits in five innings
against the Rockies (72-87).

Kershaw has returned to his usual self since, posting a 1.71 ERA
in three starts. Pitching on seven days' rest Saturday, he tossed
seven innings of three-hit ball in a 4-0 win over a San Diego team
responsible for three of his losses this season.

"I felt good, so I guess that's a bonus," said Kershaw, whose
next start will come in Game 1 of the NL division series on
Thursday. "A little bit erratic at first with the fastball but
(catcher A.J. Ellis) did a real good job of making me use all my
pitches on both sides of the plate."

The Rockies have done more than challenge Kershaw this month.
They lead the majors with a .303 batting average in September, and
have tallied at least nine hits in nine straight contests.

The retiring Todd Helton is batting .387 over a seven-game
hitting streak with two home runs, six doubles and nine RBIs.

Despite their potent offense, a 5.84 team ERA in September has
left the Rockies with an 8-14 record.

Acquired from the New York Mets in June, McHugh has yet to make
much of a mark in Denver. The right-hander, shuttled back and forth
between the minor leagues and the majors all season, has
surrendered a .379 average, including a .421 clip to left-handed
batters.

After allowing one run in five innings to St. Louis in his
return to the major leagues on Sept. 16, he regressed Saturday,
allowing six runs and a season-worst 11 hits in five innings of a
7-2 loss to Arizona.

"It was kind of disappointing, too many balls up in the middle
of the plate," McHugh said. "I had success the last outing keeping
the ball down and out of the middle of the plate. Today we got beat
on a couple of big spots in the middle of the plate up."

The NL West champion Dodgers (91-68) have scored 13 runs over
their last six games.

Despite three doubles and a triple, they left seven men on base
in Thursday's 3-2 loss at San Francisco. They are 6 for 44 (.136)
with runners in scoring position in their last six.

Yasiel Puig is 7 for his last 37 (.189) overall, but is batting
.346 (9 for 26) against Colorado.

The Rockies are one of four major league teams with a winning
record at Dodger Stadium this year, having won four of seven.

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